82: Choose Wisely

CHAPTER 18, TEXT 63: Thus I have explained to you knowledge still more confidential. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.

When I am facing a big decision in life, I sit down and make a Pros and Cons list for each possible decision. 

After all, no decision is free of "Cons" - there are costs and concerns for every decision we make, no matter how obvious and wonderful that decision may seem. 

In Arjuna's case, he has two clear options:

Fight?

Or don't fight? 

And throughout the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna and Arjuna have been supplying Pros and Cons for each side. Overwhelmingly, one decision is outweighing the other: 

Fight. 

Even though Krishna has directly instructed Arjuna to fight (2.38), still, Krishna respects and honors the free will of Arjuna, and that his friend must be given the space to surrender to his own decision, heart and soul. Prabhupad writes, "Before surrendering, one is free to deliberate on this subject as far as the intelligence goes; that is the best way to accept the instruction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Prabhupad often condemns "blind following". He insists that one should apply one's intelligence to consider the guru's and God's instructions. 

Using one's intelligence - which is the capacity to make distinctions - is the cleanest way to access that divine function of the soul, free will. Using intelligence is the "best way" to accept instruction. 

Krishna even emphasizes "Deliberate on this fully." 

Once we deliberate, we make a decision. In a way, making a decision is a kind of surrender. Even the word "decision" contains the Latin root "cis" or "cid" which means "to cut." When we make a decision, like a surgeon we are cutting off the other possibilities. It is difficult to reverse or repair a cut, just like it's hard to reverse or repair a decision. This means that we are surrendering to one decision over another and living with the consequences of that decision, for better or worse. 

Ultimately, some decisions lead us to the highest destiny of the soul - to love and be loved. Prabhupad writes, "Surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is in the best interest of the living entities. It is not for the interest of the Supreme." Cutting off all other possibilities to enjoy the drama and pleasure of this material world and deciding to turn toward God is in our highest interest. 

The "Pros" far outweigh the "Cons."

Far. 

But Krishna never forces anyone to turn to Him. After all, how authentic would our love be if our hearts were forced? Prabhupad notes, "Here the words yathecchasi tathā kuru – “As you like, you may act” – indicate that God does not interfere with the little independence of the living entity." Prabhupad uses the phrase "little independence" which seems almost laughable, because the soul is so tiny and God is so big, but God never interferes with that spark of free will. 

Krishna always allows us to make our own decisions. 

Always. 

He has delivered the entire Bhagavad-gita to His friend Arjuna in the mood of presenting truth. He does not harp on his friend, berate him, preach to him, or in any way force him to believe anything. Ultimately, He is speaking in this way to me, who is reading the Gita thousands of years later. He has been speaking in this way to the millions and billions of souls who have heard and studied the Gita throughout history. 

Here are the Pros and Cons, Krishna seems to say. Come up with your own Pros and Cons, based on what I've shared. Deliberate on this fully. Since you are making your own choice, you shall also live with all the consequences of that choice. 

Choose wisely. 

Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/18/63/